Inman: 'The Miracle at Morgan's Creek' is the 1944 movie starring William Demarest

David Inman

Question: Many years ago my husband and I watched an old black and white movie that might have been made in the 1930s or '40s. It was about a father with teenage daughters who tested his patience. After interactions with the girls, he would raise his leg like he was tempted to give them a good swift kick in the behind when they turned to walk away from him. We enjoyed this movie so much but don't have a clue what the name of it was. My husband says that William Demarest (Uncle Charlie in "My Three Sons") played the father. All I remember is there was a lot of slapstick and silliness. I'd love to see it again. Can you help?

Answer: Sounds a lot like one of my favorites, the 1944 film "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek." Demarest played town constable Kockenlocker, who was driven to distraction by daughters Trudy (Betty Hutton) and Emmy (Diana Lynn). The trouble is that Trudy married a GI at a wild party, and is now pregnant by him, but she can't remember his name. So the family gets local yokel Norval Jones (Eddie Bracken), who's always loved Trudy, to marry her.

The movie was one of several screwball comedies written and directed by Preston Sturges, and Demarest was a member of the director's unofficial stock company, also appearing in films such as "The Lady Eve," "Sullivan's Travels" and "Hail the Conquering Hero," all worth watching, and almost all on DVD.

When you think about it, Demarest had a pretty remarkable career. He was in the first talking picture, 1927's "The Jazz Singer," and stayed busy in the movies up until a six-season run on "My Three Sons." Then in the late 1970s, he was a frequent guest on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson," telling old Hollywood stories.

Q.: This is a question about the actress who plays Charlie Sheen's ex-wife on "Anger Management." If I'm not mistaken, she played a dizzy blonde on another sitcom a few years ago. Can you tell me the name of the show?

A.: Shawnee Smith, who plays Jennifer on "Anger Management," played Linda on "Becker," which ran on CBS from 1998-2004.

Q.: We are trying to find the title of a movie. It is in black and white and the setting is somewhere in the mid-1940s or early '50s. The male lead might be a young Vic Morrow. The movie is about a young blonde woman that is down on her luck and is roaming the streets of a city. It is a rainy night and she tries to take shelter in a concrete staircase leading to a basement apartment. A man (maybe Vic Morrow) takes her in. He feeds her and gives her shelter, but keeps her trapped. She finally escapes by taking her shoe and hits him in the eye with the long heel. She opens the door to leave and is outside but she slows and seems to think things over. She makes her way back and the next part of the movie shows a happy scene with the man holding and playing with a baby toddler and the lady smiling. The end. Can you help?

A.: Methinks the movie is the 1961 film "Something Wild," with Ralph Meeker as the man and Carroll Baker as the woman. In smaller roles you have Jean Stapleton (later Edith on "All in the Family" and Doris Roberts (later Marie on "Everybody Loves Raymond"). The movie's on youtube.com, so check it out.

Q.: We saw a movie with a scene where a kid goes down the street to get some beer. He returns with the beer in a bucket (growler). Do you know what movie that was?

A.: Well, the first one that comes to mind is the 1931 film "The Public Enemy," which made James Cagney a star. At the beginning his character, as a child, goes to the neighborhood saloon to get a growler for good old dad.

Write David Inman in care of The (Louisville, Ky.) Courier-Journal, 525 W. Broadway, P.O. Box 740031, Louisville, Ky. 40201-7431; or email him at incredibleinman@yahoo.com. Questions of general interest will be answered; personal replies are not possible.

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Inman: 'The Miracle at Morgan's Creek' is the 1944 movie starring William Demarest

Question: Many years ago my husband and I watched an old black and white movie that might have been made in the 1930s or '40s. It was about a father with teenage daughters who tested his patience.